Earth Day: Then Vs Now [Video]

Earth Day is coming up this Monday, April 22 and it got me thinking about when I was a kid and all that I was taught about taking care of our earth.

Remember the crying Native American in the “Keep America Beautiful” television public service announcement (see below) in the 1970’s, observing all the pollution of modern society, created by non-caring people? Remember Woodsy Owl with his environmental message of “Give a hoot, don’t pollute”? What ever happened to these all-important messages targeted at kids? We all know that good habits start at an early age and I haven’t seen any type of messages like these since I was a kid in the 1970’s and 80’s. I find this very unsettling considering all the serious environmental threats to our beautiful planet.

Also, when I was a kid, I remember that on Earth Day, our entire school would go outside (weather permitting) and work together to clean up school property of any trash left on the ground. I’m not aware of schools doing this anymore. I do know that some teachers incorporate Earth Day in the classroom but it is certainly not mandated. My one question is, shouldn’t it be? And by all means, bring back ads which should be government sponsored (social media, tv, radio) to target young people to influence habits that can make a difference for earth’s future!